The Inspector Ben Ross Mysteries

7 primary works

A Rare Interest in Corpses

by Ann Granger

Published 1 May 2006

This is a gripping Victorian crime novel set in the heart of London from a highly respected author. It is 1864 when Lizzie Martin takes up the post of companion to a wealthy widow who is also a slum landlord. Lizzie is intrigued to learn that her predecessor as companion disappeared, supposedly having run off with an unknown man. But when the girl's body is found in the rubble of one of the recently demolished slums around the prestigious new railway station at St Pancras, Lizzie begins to wonder exactly what has been going on. She has re-made the acquaintance of a childhood friend, now Inspector Benjamin Ross, and with his help starts to investigate, risking her life to unearth the truth about the death of a girl whose fate seems interlinked with her own.

A Mortal Curiosity

by Ann Granger

Published 12 June 2008

Lizzie Martin, lady's companion, has been sent from London to the New Forest to comfort a young woman whose baby has tragically died. A sad enough task, but things take an even darker turn when a rat-catcher is found murdered in the garden, and the young woman is discovered beside the body, crying and covered in blood. Not knowing where else to turn, Lizzie calls upon her friend Inspector Ben Ross from Scotland Yard to solve the horrific crime.

A Better Quality of Murder (Inspector Ben Ross Mystery 3)

by Ann Granger

Published 27 May 2010

Inspector Ben Ross and his wife Lizzie Martin must probe into the private life of murdered Allegra Benedict to solve the mystery in A Better Quality of Murder, the third novel in the riveting Victorian crime series by Ann Granger. The perfect read for fans of Anne Perry and LJ Ross.

'Murder most enjoyable' - Bournemouth Daily Echo

As Inspector Ben Ross of Scotland Yard walks homeward one Saturday night in late October 1867, the fog that swirls around him is like a living beast. By the time it has lifted next morning, a woman lies murdered in Green Park. Allegra Benedict was the beautiful Italian wife of an art dealer in Piccadilly. But what had she been doing in London that afternoon, and why had she been selling her brooch in the Burlington Arcade just hours before her death? As Ben begins his investigation, his wife Lizzie - with the help of their maid Bessie - looks into Allegra's private life and uncovers more than one reason why someone might want her dead...

What readers are saying about A Better Quality of Murder:

'The pace never flags, the cosy puzzles remain strong throughout and we learn much about life in Victorian London. The denouement is both thrilling and chilling'

'Enjoyable and easy reading. The characters seem to pop out of the page'

'Wonderful characters and all the mystery of London fog'

A Particular Eye for Villainy

by Ann Granger

Published 7 June 2012

An Inspector Benjamin Ross mystery. When Mr Thomas Tapley, a respectable but down-at-heel gentleman, is found bludgeoned to death in his sitting room, his neighbour Inspector Benjamin Ross of Scotland Yard rushes to the scene. Tapley had recently returned from abroad but little else is known about the elusive man. Then, on hearing the news of Thomas's death, Mr Jonathan Tapley, QC, comes forward and the truth about his cousin's tragic past slowly begins to emerge. Meanwhile, Ben's wife Lizzie is convinced that Tapley was being followed on the day he died and, with a bit of surreptitious questioning, she discovers that he received a mysterious visitor in a beautiful carriage a few days before his death. As the list of suspects begins to mount, Ben can't help wondering how much of the truth is being revealed and who would benefit most from Tapley's unfortunate demise?

The Testimony Of The Hanged Man

by Ann Granger

Published 1 December 2015

The Dead Woman of Deptford

by Ann Granger

Published 1 February 2018

The Murderer's Apprentice

by Ann Granger

Published 11 July 2019

Dense fog masks foul play in the streets of London, as Ann Granger brings us her seventh Victorian mystery featuring Scotland Yard's Inspector Ben Ross and his wife Lizzie.

It is March 1870. London is in the grip of fog and ice. But Scotland Yard's Inspector Ben Ross has more than the weather to worry about when the body of a young woman is found in a dustbin at the back of a Piccadilly restaurant.

Ben must establish who the victim is before he can find out how and why she came to be there. His enquiries lead him first to a bootmaker in Salisbury and then to a landowner in Yorkshire. Meanwhile, Ben's wife, Lizzie, aided by their eagle-eyed maid, Bessie, is investigating the mystery of a girl who is apparently being kept a prisoner in her own home.

As Ben pursues an increasingly complex case, Lizzie reveals a vital piece of evidence that brings him one step closer to solving the crime...

Praise for Ann Granger's crime novels:

'Characterisation, as ever with Granger, is sharp and astringent' The Times

'Her usual impeccable plotting is fully in place' Good Book Guide

'A clever and lively book' Margaret Yorke

'This engrossing story looks like the start of a highly enjoyable series' Scotsman

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